Pitless well construction



March 8, 1966 J, BAKER 3,239,007

PITLESS WELL CONSTRUCTION Filed June 8. 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR JOHN GORDON BAKER BY Aid/w ATTORN EY PITLESS WELL CONSTRUCTION Filed June 8. 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

INVENTOR. JOHN GORDON BAKER ATTORNEY March 8, 1966 J, G. BAKER PTTLESS WELL CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 8, 1964 I NVENTOR.

JOHN GORDON BAKER Q QM ATTORNEY March 8, 1966 J. G. BAKER 3,239,007

PITLESS WELL CONSTRUCTION Filed June 8. 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

INVENTOR.

JOHN GORDON BAKER ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,239,007 PITLESS WELL CONSTRUCTION John Gordon Baker, 111 W. Main St., Evansville, Wis. Filed June 8, 1964, Ser. No. 373,440 6 Claims. (Cl. 166-85) This invention relates to an improvement in pitless well construction and particularly to an improvement in means for installing and removing apparatus for providing and maintaining a sealed connection between a liquidcarrying drop pipe within a well casing and a delivery pipe outside the casing.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application filed May 14, 1959, Serial No. 813,- 226, entitled Pitless Well Construction, now United States Patent 3,136,362, issued June 9, 1964, wherein there is described:

The well casing, generally tubular in form extends nearly to or above the ground level with a water discharge connection below the frost line buried permanently. The well water coming up the drop pipe within the well casing is conducted through the casing wall to a horizontal discharge pipe by means of an adapter having a sealed joint permitting simple replaceable removal of the drop pipe and other attached water system components within the well casing from above for servicing. A ring of yield able material confined in an annular space defined by the mating parts of the sealing joint is used as a seal. A fitting attached to the drop pipe, designated herein as the drop pipe fitting is one mating part of the sealed joint, and a fitting attached to or forming part of the casing, designated herein as a casing fitting is the other mating part of the sealed joint. An actuator serves to create and maintain the sealed relationship.

A primary object of this invention is to provide means to facilitate installation of the combination of drop pipe, drop pipe fitting and actuator and also to facilitate removal of the combination which has certain advantages, specifically that said means:

(1) Provides for removal of the combination even if it sticks,

(2) Provides for removal of the entire combination as a simple single operation,

(3) Makes it relatively easy to properly orient rotational position of the combination with respect to the casing fitting; i.e., provides for ease in rotational alignment of the output of the drop pipe fitting with the inlet of the casing fitting,

(4) Makes it relatively easy to provide accurate elevation of the drop pipe fitting within the casing; i.e., provides for ease in vertical alignment of the fittings,

(5) Prevents or tends to prevent the combination from being dropped into the well during installation or removal,

(6) Provides for retaining the no return features of the actuator,

(7) May be sold separtely from a pump,

(8) Makes it possible to provide for the lift-out pipe extending substantially to the top of the casing,

(9) Provides for continuing to use the same or a similar well cap,

(10) Provides for absorption of the impact which results from dropping the combination for a short distance within the casing, when the drop is halted by the means of this invention, so that none of the parts are broken as a result of such a fall,

(11) Provides for utilizing alternative embodiments, one of which is preferably left in a well and the other of which preferably may be removed from a well,

(12) May be installed adjustably to compensate for variations in manufacture,

(13) Provides for guiding of the combination downward within the casing.

Other objects will become apparent from the drawings and from the following detailed description in which it is intended to illustrate the applicability of the invention without thereby limiting its scope to less than that of all equivalents which will be apparent to one skilled in the art. In the drawings like reference numerals refer to like parts and:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of apparatus embodying one form of the invention and incorporating the novel features of the invention, the section being taken along a vertical centerline of the well casing;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken along the line BB of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective View of a slight modification of the upper portion of the embodiment of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the well casing unsectioned and a transverse hole bored in the casing for installation of the casing fitting. The casing fitting parts are shown exploded;

FIGURE 5 is an elevation view of an alternative form of the casing fitting suitable for welding on the casing;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary vertical section view of an alternative form of control rod and casing cap where the section is taken through the centerline of the casing;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary horizontal section of the alternative form of cap and control taken along the line CC of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional elevation of another embodiment;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of the upper portion of the embodiment of FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of members 164 and 166 in FIGURE 8 taken, on a vertical plane from the same point of view as in FIGURE 8 FIGURE 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of members 153, 154 and 166 in FIGURE 8, taken on the transverse plane indicated by lines 1111 in FIGURE 10.

While the invention is applicable to all types of pumps commonly used for pumping water from wells and is susceptible of various modification and alternative constructions, I have shown in the drawings and will describe herein a preferred embodiment as applied to the so-called submersible type pump. It is to be understood that I do not intend to limit the invention by such disclosure, but aim to cover all modifications, alternative constructions and uses falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the claims.

Referring to FIGURE 1, the tubular well casing 10 extends downward into the ground below the frost line 11 and upward above the ground level 12. A drop pipe 13 supports a submersible pump 14 (not shown) and conducts the well water up from the pump 14 into the drop pipe fitting 15. The water continues through drop pipe fitting 15 and the casing fitting 16 and into the delivery pipe 17 which may be tightly screwed into casing fitting 16. The round neck 18 of drop pipe fitting 15 may extend into a cylindrical recess 19 which may be provided within the casing fitting 16. A rubber ring seal 20 may be provided within an annular groove 21 surrounding the neck 18 and may fit tightly against the smooth cylindrical surfaces of the groove 21 and the recess 19 to form a pressure tight seal between the drop pipe fitting 15 and the casing fitting 16.

The chamfer around the neck 18 and the chamfer 23 around the recess 19 may facilitate entry of neck 18 into recess 19 during assembly. The chamfer 23 may also prevent damage to the ring seal as it enters the recess 19 during assembly.

The cylindrical surface 24 of the casing fitting 16 has substantially the same radius as that of the outside of the casing 16. The cylindrical neck 25 of the casing fitting 16 has a slightly smaller diameter than the bored hole 26 in the casing 10.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, the casing fitting 16 is provided with the ears 27 and 27A which are slotted to receive the ends of the U bolt 28. The U bolt 28, the nuts 29 and 29A and the washers 30 and 39A hold the casing fitting 16 tightly against the outer wall of the casing 10.

Referring to FIGURE 1, the casing fitting 16 is provided with a groove 31, surrounding the neck 25, shaped to squeeze the rubber ring seal 32 against the outside diameter of the casing 10 to form a fluidtight seal between the casing fitting 16 and the casing 10 to prevent contamination entering the well from the adjacent ground. An alternative form of casing fitting 16W is shown in FIGURE 5, prior to welding. Since the weld is made fiuidtight, the ring seal is eliminated.

Referring to FIGURES l, 2 and 3, the drop pipe fitting 15 extends upward to the boss 52 which is tapped to receive the lift out pipe 53 or other elongated member, e.g., a rod. Lift-out pipe 53 extends vertically upward substantially to the top of the casing 10. A fitting 54 'is threaded onto the upper end of the lift-out pipe 53 to facilitate meeting all the objectives of the invention. It provides the advantages listed above.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 3, the fitting 54 is provided with aperture 55 for attachment of a hoist; a rope, a cable or a chain may be passed through aperture 55 or a hook may be engaged in it. The fitting 54 is also provided with laterally extending portions 56 and 59 which have end extremities 57 and which slidably engage the inner surface of casing 10. Lower surfaces 58 and 61 of portions 56 and 59 slant upward and-outward to the lower edges of 57 and 60 from near the bottom of fitting 54 at 62 which is near the outer surface of member 53. As fitting 54 is lowered past the upper peripheral edge 63 of casing 10, surfaces 58 and '61 become engaged with edge 63 and act to guide fitting 54 and pipe 53 into proper lateral locations. Fitting 54 may be provided with an upper portion comprising a steel bar 64 which may extend laterally to engage edge 63 and cap screw 66 which may attach portion 64 to lower fitting portion 54. Lower portion 54 may suitably be of cast iron. A notch 65 or any suitable mark may be made in or on edge 63 or other upper portion to indicate the position of member 16 below the mark. For example, notch or mark 65 may be so located on 63 that when an edge of portion 64 coincides with it, the center of portion 64 is directly above the centerline of fitting 16. By then assembling members 15, 53 and 64 (prior to placing them in the well) in such manner that the center of portion 64 is directly above the horizontal centerline of fitting 15 when drop pipe 13 is vertically oriented, the centerlines of fittings 15 and 16 will be caused to lie in the same vertical plane and, in fact, to be exactly in line if the proper elevation is provided for fitting 15 in casing 10, when the proper edge of portion 64 is made to coincide with mark or notch 65. Screw 66 may be adjusted to vary the height of the end of portion 64 with respect to portion 54 and therefore the position of fitting 15 with respect to edge 15. By providing a proper distance between portion 64 and fitting 15 in accordance with a previously measured distance between edge 63 and fitting 16, suitable and proper elevational alignment of fittings 15 and 16 may be provided when fitting 54 and the parts suspended therefrom are first placed in the well and if alignment is not altogether accurate it may be easily corrected to a small extent suitably adjusting screw 66 and greater adjustment is not normally necessary if the proper procedure is followed As shown in FIGURE 3, the modification of the upper portion of control rod 46 shown in FIGURES -6 and 7 may be further modified by providing member 77 having internal threads in its upper end with which eye member 81 may be threadedly engaged. Member 81 may extend into recess 80 and bear against portion 79 as described in connection with FIGURES 6 and 7 and may in other respects function in the manner of the upper portion of member 77 and pin 78. However, it has the additional advantage that if the actuator sticks when it is desired to remove the actuator, the drop pipe and the drop pipe fitting, a hoist may be more readily engaged with the eye of member 81 than with pin 78.

As shown in FIGURES 8, 9, 10 and 11, lift-out pipe 53 may be replaced with any elongated member, such as a rod or pipe 153 which may be attached to fitting 15 and may extend well above the top of casing 10 when fitting 15 is in sealed engagement with fitting 16. Alignment fitting 154 may be provided with vertical tubular aperture 155 into which set screw 166 may extend. The interior surface of aperture 155 may have two or more bosses 167 and 168 extending inwardly and having flat inner surfaces and spaced radially from set screw 166. Member 153 may be received in aperture 155 and fitting 154 may be retained in place on member 153 by tightening set screw 166 to engage member 153 and force it against the fiat inner surfaces of bosses 167 and 168. Fitting 154 may be provided with a portion 164 which may be integral therewith and may extend outwardly and downwardly to engage upper peripheral edge 63 of casing 10 which may be provided with a mark or notch 65 which may be located and utilized in the manner previously described. Fitting 154 may also be provided with laterally extending portions 156 and 159 which may have end extremities 157 and which may slidably engage inner surfaces of casing 10. Lower surfaces 158 and 161 of portions 156 and 159 may extend slantingly upward and outward to extremities 157 and 160 from near the bottom of fitting 154 at 162. which is near the outer surface of member 153.

After installation of fitting 15 in sealed relation with member 16 has been completed set screw 166 may be loosened to free member 154 and both members 153 and 154 may then be removed and because they will not then be needed again in connection with any particular well until it is necessary to dissassemble fitting 15 from fitting 16 and to remove drop pipe 13 and pump 14 from the well, for example, to make repairs to the pump, to pipe 13 or to casing 10, members 153 and 154 may be reused repeatedly in connection with other installations in other wells, both for original installations and for repair or maintenance operations, each of which requires the removal and subsequent re-installation of parts within a well.

Preferably a cap (which for simplicity is not shown) is provided for the casing.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2 the channel-shaped actuator'35 and related parts, including the control rod 46:

(a) Convert vertical manual movements of the upper end 47 of control rod 46 into horizontal movements of the drop pipe fitting 15 and limit the degrees of freedom of pipe fitting 15 in order to facilitate the insertion of the neck 18 into the recess 19;

(b) After assembly aid in fixing pipe fitting 15 with respect to the casing 10 and when necessary;

(c) Convert upward manual movement of the control rod 46 into a horizontal movement of pipe fitting 15 withdrawing neck 18 from recess 19.

The control rod 46 is bent'about a 90 angle at its upper end 47 to facilitate its vertical movement of such end 47. The lower end of the rod 46 is bent and the actuator 35 punched to make a strong coupling between rod 46 and actuator 35. The bend 48 at the lower end of the rod 46 retains the actuator rod connection when the rod 46 and actuator 35 are assembled outside the well casing. Force from the rod 46 is transmitted to the actuator 35 through the hole 49 punched in the actuator.

The bond 50 and the slot 51 also punched in the actuator in combination with the bend 48 and the hole 49 locate rod 46 in a. substantially vertical plane through the casing axis.

The pin 36 extends through the holes 37 and 37A in the drop pipe fitting 15 and through the slots 38 and 33A in the actuator 35. The spacer 39 fits over the pin 36 and into the slot 38 of the actuator. The square head 40 of the pin 36 fits similarly in the other slot 38A of the actuator 35. A square shape is used in order to sustain the large loads between the pin 36 and the slots 38 and 38A resulting (a) from forcing the drop pipe fitting 15 against the inner wall of the casing at the points 33 and 34, and (b) from water hammer. The pin 36, the spacer 39 and drop pipe fitting are held together by the cotter pin 41 inserted into the hole 42 in the pin 36.

The upper portions of the slots 38 and 38A down to the level at 45 are straight at an angle of about 3 with the axis of casing 10. Below the level at 45 each slot center line for slots 38 and 38A is a circular arc tangent the actuator 35 is within the well casing 10, 35 is completely located by the walls of casing 10 except in elevation. Consequently, the lateral location of the drop pipe fitting 1 5, with respect to the well casing 10, is determined by the lateral location of drop pipe fitting 15 with respect to'the actuator 35. The latter location is determined in the .direction of the axis of the pin 36 by the contacts between, the ribs 43 and 43A and the actuator 35. The lateral location of the drop pipe fitting 15, with respect to the actuator, perpendicular to. the pin 36 is determined by the lateral location of the slots 38 and 38A in the same direction. On account of the slope of the slots 38 and 38A,

ltheirlateral location perpendicular to the pin 36 is determined by the relative elevation of the drop pipe fitting 15 and the actuator 35.

With this arrangement and with the axis of the drop. pipe 13 vertical, the drop pipe fitting 15 has only those def grees of freedom necessary for assembly with the casing v fitting 16 and when the axis of the neck 18 is at the same elevation and orientation as the axis of the recess 19, the two axes coincide. In this condition, the neck 18 is inserted into. the recess 19 simply by manually moving the [upper end 47 of the control rod 46 downward. The drop pipe fitting is rigidly fixed to the inner wall of the casing 10 by tapping downward on the upper end 47 of the control rod 46 with the handle of a hammer.

The insertion starts with the actuator 35 at its upper- -most position, when the pin 36 and relatedpartsare at the lower endof the slots 38 and 38A. With the rod 46 and the actuator 35 moving downward 'at a given rate, the neck 18 first moves into the recess 19 at a comparatively rapid rate on account of the relatively large angle of the slot 38 and 38A as measured with respect to the axis of the casing 10. After the level 45 of the actuator 35 reaches the pin 36 and the straight upper portions of the slots move over 36, the inward movement of the neck 18 is comparatively slow because of the small upper slot angle. When the 'vibration of the adapter, due to the pump unbalance for.

instance, the smaller the upper slot angle required for the 6 corresponding friction to be adequate, the required angles varying from about 2 degrees for severe vibration to about 15 where the vibration is very mild. An actuator of less than 3 degrees upper slot angle becomes so long that where the vibration is too severe to rely on friction along with a 3-degree upper slot angle, I prefer to restrain the upward movement of the actuator 35 with the modified form of cap cover 59A as shown in FIGURES 6 and 7. In order to do this, an elongated nut 77 is added to the upper end of an altered actuator control rod 46A which is threaded to suit the nut as shown in FIGURES 6 and 7. The lower end of the control rod 46A and the coupling to the actuator 35 are the same as for the control 46, as previously described in connection with FIGURE 1. The upper end of the nut 77 is fitted with the cross pin 78 to facilitate both raising and lowering of the actuator 35 and rotation of 77 on control rod 46A. The nut 77 is adjusted onthe rod 46A so that when the actuator 35 is in place in the assembled condition the upper'end of the nut 77 will just clear the upper surface 79 of the pocket 80 within the cap cover 59A as shown in FIGURE 6." Under these conditions the cap cover 59A prevents upward movement of the actuator 35 by the direct restraint of 79 on the upper end of 77. Rotation of the nut 77 with the cross pin 78 is also prevented by the elongated shape of the pocket 80 as shown in FIGURE 7. It is to be noted that there is no attachment of the actuator to the cap or the well cas- With the upward movement of the control rod 46A prevented, the upper slot angle can be substantially larger than 3 degrees even with severe vibration because friction is not depended on to prevent upward movement of 35 once the cap cover 59A is in place. On the other hand friction is depended on to hold the actuator 35 in place before the cap cover 59A is in place. 'In other words, too large an upper slot angle, even with no vibration or water pressure present would result in the actuator 35 j returning upward and relieving the contact force at the points 33 and 34 after each time the control rod 46A is tapped downwardin the assembly process.

An upper slot angle with which the actuator 35 will not return upward after the control rod 46A (or the control rod 46) is tapped downward with neither vibration,

' other than that produced by the tapping, nor water presmum no return angle through adding length to the actuator 35 increases the allowable tolerance in the adjustment of the nut 77 for a given allowable loss in the contact force at the points 33 and 34. I

It is suitable for this invention to utilize actuators and drop pipe fittings having any of several structures not described herein, the structure, function, interaction and combination of drop pipe, drop pipe fitting, actuator, casing and casing fitting being not a part of this invention.

Installation and assembly procedure The parts are installed in the following manner:

(1) With the well casing 10 in place an excavation is made of sufiicient depth below the frost line and of sulficient diameter to workon the casing-delivery pipe connection as shown in FIGURE 4.

(2) The horizontal axis hole 26 is bored in the casing below the frost line 11, the diameterof the hole being that suited to the outside diameter of the neck 25 of the casing fitting 16,as shown in FIGURE 1 (or 16W as shown in FIGURE 5). w

(3) Where the U-bolt type of casing fitting 16 is used, the ring seal 32 is placed in the groove 31 of 16, as shown in FIGURE 1. The neck 25 of casing fitting 16 is then inserted into the bored hole 26 in the casing 10. The U bolt 28, the washers 30 and 30A and the nuts 29 and 29A are next put in place and the latter tightened as shown in FIGURE 2. The distance from casing edge 63 to the centerline of fitting 16 is then measured.

(3a) Where the welded casing fitting 16W is used, the neck 25 is inserted in the casing hole 26 and the casing fitting 16W welded to the casing all around the outer circumference of 16W to form a fiuidtight joint.

(4) The pump 14 (not shown) is attached to the lower end of the drop pipe 13 in a manner well known in the art.

(5) The pump, drop pipe 13 and pump cable 68 are lowered into the well until the upper end of the drop pipe 13 approaches the upper end of the well casing 10. At this point the drop pipe 13 may be restrained from further descent by attaching a pipe clamp (not shown) in a manner well known in the art. During the lowering process the motor cable 68 is taped to the drop pipe 13 at spaced intervals as is common practice in the installation of submersible pumps.

(6) The actuator assembled on the drop pipe fitting 15, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, is pulled upward with respect to until the spacer 39 and the head 40 of the pin 36 slide to the lower end of the slots 38 and 38A respectively. The drop pipe fitting 15 thus exposed is screwed tightly onto the upper end of the drop pipe 13.

(7) The motor cable 68 is now passed through the channel between a wall of the actuator 35 and the drop pipe fitting 15 as shown in FIGURES l and 2. If desired, the cable 68 is tapedto 15 (tape not shown).

(8) The lift-out pipe 53 and fitting 54 and the drop pipe fitting 15 are now screwed tightly together, with the elevation of fitting 54 above fitting 15 being carefully determined in accordance with the previously made measurement of the distance of fitting 16 below edge 63. When the assembly is completed portion 64 preferably extends directly above neck 18.

(8a) Alternatively, lift-out .pipe 153 is attached to fitting 15 and alignment fitting 154 is attached to pipe 153 at a proper height as with fitting 54. Portion 164 of fitting 154 is made to extend in a predetermined relationship with respect to neck 18.

(9) The rubber ring seal is next installed in the annular groove 21.

(10) A hoist is attached to the fitting 54 making use of the opening 55 therethrough, and the pipe clamp (not shown) supporting the drop pipe is removed.

(10a) Alternatively, pipe.hoisting means usually used to hoist portions of drop pipe 13 is attached to lift pipe 153.

(11) The lower end of actuator rod 46 is then attached to actuator 35. The rod 46 is now used to hold the actuator in the uppermost position while the assembly attached to the hoist is lowered into the well until either portion 64 or portion 164 engages edge 63. At the same time the suspended assembly is oriented so that the rotational position of either fitting 54 or 154 is correctly located with respect to the delivery pipe 17, as indicated by coincidence of a suitable portion, e.g., an edge, of either portion 64 or 164 with a mark previously made at a properly predetermined position in edge 63.

(12) A downward push is now applied by hand to the upper end 47 of the actuator rod 46. If the axis of the neck 18 is in close alignment with the axis of the recess 19, neck 18 will be moved into recess 19 until the drop pipe fitting 15 comes in contact with the inner wall of the casing 10 at the points 33 and34; after which the upper end 47 of the actuator rod 46 may be tapped downward with the handle of a hammer to fix 15 tightly against the inner wall of casing 10. If there is insuflicient accuracy of alignment between the neck 18 and the recess 19, neck 18 will not enter the recess 19, and the rod 46 will be arrested in its downward movement. However, repeated assembly tries with small changes in elevation and orientation enable the operator to quickly complete the assembly without the necessity of accurate measurement or observation down in the well. Complete assembly is positively discerned by noting the elevation change of the upper end 47 of the actuator rod 46.

(12a) If lift member 153 has been used, alignment fitting 154 is loosened by loosening screw 166 and member 153 is then removed, together with alignment fitting 154.

(12b) If restraint on the upward movement of the actuator 35 is to be used on account of the possibility of severe vibration the cap cover 59A, the control rod 46A with nut 77 or a control rod provided with members 77 and 81 is used with the same procedure as set forth in paragraph 1 except that that nut 77 (or member 77 and 81) is adjusted so that when the actuator 35 and cap 59A are in place the upper end of 77 (or 81) will just clear the upper side 79 of the pocket 80 as shown in FIGURE 6.

(13) The cap is assembled.

(14) Standard electrical wiring practice is utilized to provide for cable 68 to enter the cap andthence the casing in proper manner.

(15) The excavation is now filled with the fill extending somewhat above the surrounding ground level at the well casing.

It is seen from the above description and discussion that the invention is broad in scope, and is not to be limited excepting by the claims in which it is our intention to cover all novelty inherent in this invention as broadly as possible, in view of prior art.

The embodiments of-the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows.

I claim:

1. In a pitless well construction, comprising a tubular well casing, a delivery pipe, a drop pipe within the well casing for conducting water up from the well, a drop pipe fitting attached to the top of said drop pipe, a casing fitting attached to the casing and to the delivery pipe and having an apertured lateral passage which provides.communicating from the interior of the casing through one side of the casing to the interior of the delivery pipe, said drop pipe fitting having an outlet and an interior passage to provide water flow from said drop pipe to said outlet, said outlet being in sealed engagement with said casing fitting, an actuator within said casing the outer extremities of which are approximately circumscribed by the inner wall of said casing, said actuator maintaining said sealed engagement, a control rod connected to said actuator and extending upwardly within said casing to cause said actuator to operate to establish or disestablish said sealed engagement: i

the combination of:

an elongated member connected to an upper portion of said drop pipe fitting and extending upwardly within said casing, and

an alignment fitting attached to an upper portion of said elongated member, said alignment fitting engageable with the upper peripheral edge of said casing, and

provided with laterally extending portions having end extremities to slidably engage inner surfaces of said casing,

said laterally extending portions having lower surfaces which slant upward and outward to lower edges of said end extremities,

said alignment fitting provided with means to removably attach it to said elongated member, and

the combination of said elongated member and said alignment fitting provided with means for attaching lifting means to the combination to lift the drop pipe, drop pipe fitting and actuator within the well.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said lower surfaces which slant upward and outward extend from near the bottom end of the alignment fitting and from near the outer surface of said elongated member.

3. The combination of claim 1, wherein said alignment fitting comprises a cast iron lower potrion and a laterally extending steel bar upper portion attached loosely to the lower portion with threaded members, the outer end portion of said steel bar being engageable with an upper peripheral edge of said casing.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said lower surfaces which slant upward and outward extend from near the bottom end of the alignment fit-ting and from near the outer surface of said elongated member.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein said elongated member extends entirely through said alignment fitting and said alignment fitting is secured to said elongated member by a set screw, wherein said alignment fitting is 10 provided with a single integrally attached portion extending laterally from an upper portion of said fitting and having a substantially horizontal bottom surface to engage the upper peripheral edge of said casing.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said lower surfaces slant upwardly and outwardly from near the bottom end of the alignment fitting.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,771,955 11/1956 Carter 16685 2,949,961 8/ 1960 Anderson 16685 3,014,532 12/1961 Eging 166-85 CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner.

BENJAMIN HERSH, Examiner. 

1. IN A PITLESS WELL CONSTRUCTION, COMPRISING A TUBULAR WELL CASING, A DELIVERY PIPE, A DROP PIPE WITHIN THE WELL CASING FOR CONDUCTING WATER UP FROM THE WELL, A DROP PIPE FITTING ATTACHED TO THE TOP OR SAID DROP PIPE, A CASING FITTING ATTACHED TO THE CASING AND TO THE DELIVERY PIPE AND HAVING AN APERTURED LATERAL PASSAGE WHICH PROVIDES COMMUNICATING FROM THE INTERIOR OF THE DELIVERY PIPE, SIDE OF THE CASING TO THE INTERIOR OF THE DELIVERY PIPE, SAID DROP PIPE FITTING HAVING AN OUTLET AND AN INTERIOR PASSAGE TO PROVIDE WATER FLOW FROM SAID DROP PIPE TO SAID OUTLET, SAID OUTLET BEING IN SEALED ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CASING FITTING, AN ACTUATOR WITHIN SAID CASING THE OUTER EXTREMITIES OF WHICH ARE APPROXIMATELY CIRCUMSCRIBED BY THE INNER WALL OF SAID CASING, SAID ACTUATOR MAINTAINING SAID SEALED ENGAGEMENT, A CONTROL ROD CONNECTED TO SAID ACTUATOR AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY WITHIN SAID CASING TO CAUSE SAID ACTUATOR TO OPERATED TO ESTABLISH OR DISESTABLISH SAID SEALED ENGAGEMENT: THE COMBINATION OF: AN ELONGATED MEMBER CONNECTED TO AN UPPER PORTION OF SAID DROP PIPE FITTING AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY WITHIN SAID CASING, AND AN ALIGNMENT FITTING ATTACHMENT TO AN UPPER PORTION OF SAID ELONGATED MEMBER, SAID ALIGNMENT FITTING ENGAGEABLE WITH THE UPPER PERIPHERAL EDGE OF SAID CASING, AND PROVIDED WITH LATERALLY EXTENDING PORTIONS HAVING END EXTREMITIES TO SLIDABLY ENGAGE INNER SURFACES OF SAID CASING, SAID LATERALLY EXTENDING PORTIONS HAVING LOWER SURFACES WHICH SLANT UPWARD AND OUTWARD TO LOWER EDGES OF SAID END EXTREMITIES, SAID ALIGNMENT FITTING PROVIDED WITH MEANS TO REMOVABLY ATTACH IT TO SAID ELONGATED MEMBER, AND THE COMBINATION OF SAID ELONGATED MEMBER AND SAID ALIGNMENT FITTING PROVIDING WITH MEANS FOR ATTACHING LIFTING MEANS TO THE COMBINATION TO LIFT THE DROP PIPE, DROP PIPE FITTING AND ACTUATOR WITHIN THE WELL. 